Here’s a colorful and rather exotic venture into the land of flamenco and world guitar, something with which Nocy Karkour (just call him Nocy) is more than a little familiar, being an accomplished musician who’s performed with such great talent as Rod Stewart, Jon Anderson of the rock group Yes, Kenny G, and Larry Coryell. My focus here on Rise, this “best of Nocy” release, was mostly on his highly charged Latin pieces, Latin music being a weakness of mine. A couple of the more world/Eastern-influenced tunes like “Mirage Sensual” didn’t quite work for me, but they were in the minority, as this album shines a brilliant light on not only the artist’s writing and production skills but on his grasp of diversity, substance, and cultural flair. Ronald Jackson The Smooth Jazz Ride…

Rise